which is better PCI, PCIe or USB network adapter?
 

I have a Linksys PCI wireless G network adapter..

want to know if i should upgrade to a wireless N adapter and if i should go PCI, PCIe or usb....


anyone here who tried all 3 or PCIe wants to share thoughts??
Would there be a big difference going to N?? or is the G speed still hold its own vs the N?
also, is there such a thing as a USB 3.0 network adapter? I havent seen any for sale...

My downloads maxes at about 1.8mbps.. would the wireless N bump up that speed drastically?

I have the Telus Actiontec router at home...

802.11g spec is up to 54Mbps... even at 802.11b's 11Mbps your internet connection is still your bottleneck. Going to an N adapter (typically 130-150Mbps) won't get you any faster internet; at best it will give you slightly improved range.

As far as PCI/PCIe/USB, there's no speed advantage in this case to one over the other - even USB 2.0 supports up to 480Mbps, which is far faster than even WiFi-N can go. Which is "better" depends entirely on what's most convenient for your system.

i've never had much luck with USB adapters. they always seem to 'hang' a bit when booting up. i vote a 3 antenna pci version instead.

most computers should probably have quite a few pci ports taht are hardly used...just go with that.

or just go with whatever is cheapest...personally i'd save all pci-e slots of video card(s)

so i guess i shall stick to my linksys wireless g pci card and save money..

Generally the benefits for N are increased range and increase network transfer speed, NOT Internet speed (as Soundy mentioned)
I would stick to your G pci adapter, and for other people with the same question, but no existing adapter, I'd suggest USB, only because it's a little more flexible/portable than a pci/e one

when i say speed, i meant from the router to my pc... not from telus the telus server.. does that make sense?

It MIGHT make a difference if your internet connection was >50Mbps... all connections are limited by weakest-link theory: your transfers will only be as fast as the slowest part of the route. You could have an all-gigabit network, and if your internet connection itself is only 1.8Mbps, then you're never going to download anything at faster than 1.8Mbps.

Keep in mind that there's another end to every internet connection and you're limited to the speed they can send at as well. If you're connecting to a website that can only send data at 500kbps, then you're never going to download anything from that site faster than 500kbps, regardless of how fast your own network is.

I see no reason to upgrade unless you either need the extra range, need a faster link to other machines on your own LAN, or get a stupidly fast internet connection.

I've used USB adapters a few times... they work okay, but I've found they can have reliability issues.

I think it also depends on your distance from the router and how many obstacles you have to pass through to get to your router from your computer. If you can get great signal with a USB adapter, it's the best choice. With PCI and PCI-E adapters, you have the option of being able to get an external mount for your antennas and get stronger antennas if a USB adapter's signal doesn't cut it. It's going to cost more going that route though.

I would also consider Powerline ethernet. I've had my fair share of PCI and USB network adapters since I've been trying to find the best one to get a good, consistent signal from my desktop to my router. I have to pass through one floor, plus multiple walls to the other end of the house. After all my signal problems, I decided to give Powerline a shot and I haven't looked back since.

+1 Powerline ethernet. I wasn't very convinced at first but it has worked out for me extremely well.

I've never had any good luck with USB network adapters. I've tried maybe 4 or 5 of them, all different manufacturers.

so for the Powerline adapters... do they act like a router or a hub just without the hassle of the wires??? so the range between these devices are limitless?

how good/reliable are these? i mean these are relatively still newish kinda tech

It uses your existing electrical system to transmit the data... so as long as the two outlets are on the same wiring system, it should work. I THINK the speeds you get are better if they are closer together though.

I use this to stream audio on my audio system through the Internet and on my DLNA server. With web radio, it's the typical 128kpbs stream while on my DLNA server, I'm listening to 320kbps MP3s and FLAC files. The FLAC files are pretty intense and so far it hasn't skipped a beat (yet.) :D

I used the built-in WiFi on my receiver to stream and it kept on bottlenecking. My only option was to get the powerline adapters which really was as easy as plug and play.

Powerline adapters work great if both ends are on the same leg of your service. Most residential systems have two 120V legs, and plugging the adapters into different legs will work, but very slowly.

You basically just plug one into an outlet at each location, then plug a network cable into the adapter. That's all there is to it.

Distance should have little or no effect on speed, but noise on the line will - if there are motors on the same circuit (fridge, A/C, etc.), you'll see speed dips when they're running, and even more when they start up.